• SANTI GIOVANNI BATTISTA E BENEDETTO/EREMO DI TIZZANO

• Via Tizzano 34, 40033 Casalecchio di Reno

• CALL

• 9.00 am -12.00 noon (all year); 3.00 - 6.00 pm (from March to October)

• The Tizzano hermitage can be considered one of the most enchanting places in Casalecchio di Reno. The churchyard provides a spectacular view, sweeping over the flatlands all the way from Bologna to the edge of Modena, and on the clearest of days, even the profile of the Alpine foothils can be distinctly observed. To the right, we see the Reno River valley, from the Sanctuary of the Blessed Virgin of St Luke to Monte Mario and the town of Badolo. The construction of the monastery complex of the hermitage was begun in 1655 by the Camaldolese Hermitage Monks. The work was not completed until 1741 when the church was consacrated to St. Benedict. The façade is characterized by simple lines, with the bare elegance of an austere Baroque style, while the single-naved interior features lateral chapels linked by narrow passagweways. The main altar in the apse chapel bears an altarpiece by the Bolognese painter Giovanni Francesco Gessi depicting St. Benedict during his period of hermitage. The second chapel houses a hallowed crucifix of eastern origin with a reliquary at its base holding fragments of the True Cross and other relics from the Passion of Christ. Outside of the church a lovely well is covered by a wrought iron frame topped with a cross and built over a cistern from 1681, which provided water for the complex. A wide lawn in the back held 12 monk's cells, although all that remains today are the outer walls of two of them.